Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup)
| next = }} Tunisia v England was a match which took place at the Volgograd Arena on Monday 18 June 2018. Preview and teams's preparation Wahbi Khazri is set to be available for Tunisia, although he may lack match fitness, having not played since April after injuring his thigh with Rennes. Full-back Ali Maaloul should also be fit despite a hamstring problem, but key forward Youssef Msakni was left out of the squad because of a knee injury. England players have reportedly already been told their starting line-up. Midfielder Jordan Henderson, centre-back Harry Maguire and forward Raheem Sterling are all tipped to play. An unusual state of calm has surrounded England's build-up to this tournament; limited tabloid hysteria, a level-headed manager and low-key expectations all contributing to an air of serenity, tattoos aside. This is Gareth Southgate's first major tournament as manager but he's handled things like an old pro, adept at speaking to the media and seemingly in sync with his squad. The England boss played two games at the World Cup in 1998, including against Tunisia, and he will be aiming to repeat the 2-0 victory that day, secured by goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes. Tunisia will be suitable opponents to test England. Hard to break down and tidy in possession, their style is one England have struggled against before. They have the longest active World Cup winless streak of any side competing in Russia, with no win in 11, but they qualified undefeated. Their only loss so far in 2018 came against Spain, a creditable 1-0 defeat that was not settled until the 84th minute. Head to head Tunisia and England last met in their opening group stage game of the 1998 World Cup. England won 2-0 in Marseille. Their only other meeting was a friendly in 1990 which ended 1-1. Match Harry Kane's stoppage-time winner ensured England started their World Cup campaign with victory after Tunisia threatened to snatch a point in Volgograd. Kane scored his second goal of the game with a clever header as Gareth Southgate's side recorded England's first win in the opening game of a major tournament since they beat Paraguay in the 2006 World Cup. England's captain gave them the reward they deserved for a brilliant start by turning in the opener in the 11th minute after Tunisia keeper Mouez Hassen, who went off injured in the first half, clawed out John Stones' header. England ran Tunisia ragged in that spell but were punished for missing a host of chances when Ferjani Sassi equalised from the penalty spot against the run of play after Kyle Walker was penalised for an elbow on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef. Tunisia dug in to frustrate England in the second half but Kane was the match-winner with a late header from Harry Maguire's flick, justice being done after referee Wilmar Roldan and the video assistant referee (VAR) had failed to spot him being wrestled to the ground twice in the penalty area. England's first-half display contained much to admire but it was a sign of their wastefulness in front of goal that it took the injury-time intervention from Kane to seal victory. England flew at Tunisia and racked up chance after chance, with only Kane's early goal after Hassen clawed out Stones' header to show for it. Dele Alli saw a header deflected on to the woodwork, while Jesse Lingard suffered a similar fate as well as seeing Hassen somehow block another effort with an outstretched leg. Jordan Henderson had a shot saved and other chances were spurned as England fashioned some magnificent approach play only to fail to apply the final flourish. It was remarkable that Tunisia reached half-time on level terms as they were often bewildered by England's pace and movement before being spared by their generosity in front of goal. Luckily for England, they have a world-class striker with a golden touch in Kane, who was coolness personified to carefully direct in the winner. England can now move on to face Panama in Nizhny Novgorod with confidence and momentum. It was 983 days since Raheem Sterling's last goal for England as he stepped out to face Tunisia - and that barren run continues after another night of international frustration for the Manchester City forward. Sterling's attitude and ability is never in doubt, never ducking a challenge or dropping his intensity, but the numbers are simply not stacking up at England level. He became more assured in front of goal in Manchester City's history-making 100-point Premier League title win last season. He seems, however, to feel the old anxieties with England. Sterling was grateful that a glaring miss from Lingard's pass was rescued by a linesman's flag against the Manchester United midfielder, but he almost tried too hard as the game progressed and was running up blind alleys before he was replaced by Marcus Rashford after 68 minutes. Sterling has now failed to score in his past 21 England appearances, while attempting 24 shots - a very grim statistic. He received a warm embrace from Southgate as he went off, but it is time a rare natural ability was transformed into end product for his country. Details |goals2 = Kane |stadium = Volgograd Arena, Volgograd |attendance = 41,064 |referee = Wilmar Roldán (Colombia) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Group G Table |w=1 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=3 |ga=0 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=1 |d=0 |l=0 |gf=2 |ga=1 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=1 |ga=2}} |w=0 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=0 |ga=3}} |} Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|Tunisia !width=70|England |- !scope=row|Goals scored |1||2 |- !scope=row|Total shots |6||18 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |1||8 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |39%||61% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |2||7 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |14||8 |-| Images= Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).1.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).2.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).3.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).4.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).5.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).6.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).7.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).8.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).9.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).10.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).11.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).12.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).13.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).14.jpg Tunisia v England (2018 World Cup).15.jpg See also *2018 FIFA World Cup :*2018 FIFA World Cup Group G External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2018 FIFA World Cup Matches